Once a Slayer
by bionic4ever
Summary: Sla3: An unexpected turn during a mission with Jaime and Steve has Buffy wondering if she should've stuck to Slaying. Dedicated to Sara and Julie.
1. Chapter 1

**Once a Slayer...**

Chapter One

Steve and Jaime sat attentively in front of Oscar's desk, waiting to find out why they'd been summoned, but Oscar was in no hurry. He sat back in his chair and smiled warmly at them.

"So – how's married life treating you?" he asked.

Jaime sighed affectionately. She could read their boss like a well-loved novel. "Oscar, married life is wonderful – exactly as wonderful as it was a week ago, when you took us out to celebrate our anniversary. You're stalling." She raised her eyebrows and looked at him expectantly.

Oscar glanced at Steve, who shrugged his shoulders, and both men began to chuckle.

"What?" Jaime asked, looking at her husband. "You wanna know as much as I do. We hardly ever get to work together anymore; must be a biggie." She turned back to her boss. "Where are you sending us, and what are we doing?"

"Right now," Oscar replied, "we're waiting for the third member of your team." A young, female voice chirping 'hello' to Callahan grabbed everyone's attention. "And here she is," Oscar concluded.

Buffy Summers practically danced her way into the office. "I'm here, Mr. Gol...Oscar," she said cheerfully. When she saw Jaime and Steve, she squealed with joy, rushing to hug them. "Are we working together? Cool!"

As Buffy settled into a chair, Jaime grinned at Steve. "When was the last time we thought it was cool to 'get the call'?"

"Did we ever -?" he replied, only half joking. All three operatives turned their attention to Oscar.

"Have either of you ever heard of Sutcliffe Academy?" Oscar asked the Austins.

Jaime and Steve looked at each other blankly. "Not ringing any bells," Steve answered for both of them.

Buffy was nearly bouncing out of her chair. "_I have_!" she said excitedly.

Oscar smiled. "Go ahead."

"It's a look-down-your-nose school for rich kids, up in Sacramento. Fat cat parents stroke their egos by making their kids compete for Snob of the Year," Buffy relayed proudly, forcing a chuckle from Oscar's stoic lips.

"Daniel Sutcliffe and I were in the Service together," Oscar explained. "From there, I went into Intelligence and he spent several years as an overseas diplomat. Once he'd decided to start a family, he saw a need and filled it, founding a boarding school for the children of foreign diplomats and ambassadors. It enabled him to remain Stateside with his own children. Over the years, I suppose it has grown somewhat elitist, so yes, Buffy, you are absolutely right." Oscar winked at Steve and Jaime. "You two might want to watch out for this one."

"And you called this little meeting...why?" Jaime prodded in a pleasant voice.

"A handful of these parents are slated to attend the International Peacekeepers conference in London next week, and numerous intelligence sources report plans for trouble at the school – kidnappings, or worse. If they can't stop the conference altogether, they'll try to cast blame on the other participants and throw the meetings into chaos."

"Not that I'd advocate their methods," Steve puzzled, "but wouldn't it be easier to attack the actual conference? Why the school?"

"The meetings have been moved to an undisclosed location -"

"And any parent is most vulnerable through their child," Jaime added.

"That's right," Oscar confirmed, "and that's exactly why Sutcliffe will be getting a new pupil."

Buffy bounced again. "Me?"

"I have no doubt you can pass for 16," Oscar told her.

"Are we going as bodyguards?" Jaime wondered.

Oscar eyed her briefly. He was sure Jaime wouldn't like her role quite as much as Buffy did. "Actually...you and Steve will be her parents."

"_Excuse me_?" Jaime's eyebrows shot up. "Uh...you do know I'm only ten years older than she is, right?"

"I've made Buffy a few years younger," Oscar explained patiently, "and you and Steve a few years older. I trust with your experience and skill, you can pull it off."

Jaime scowled for just a moment. "Doesn't mean I have to like it." She looked at Buffy. "No offense to my daughter-to-be."

"None taken...Mommy."

- - - - - -

Jaime had refused the gray streaks Steve had helpfully offered to put in her hair, but they both played their parent roles to the hilt, smiling indulgently at their new daughter as they sat in Dan Sutcliffe's office to register her for boarding school. Oscar hadn't told his old friend he was sending operatives to the school. He regretted not filling Daniel in on their plans, but he was treading very carefully in this case, for the sake of the Conference as well as the school.

"I'm sure Jennifer will be very happy here," Jaime affirmed.

"Her grades are as impressive as your credentials," Sutcliffe said with a wide smile. "We're happy to have her, and rest assured that she'll be completely safe while you attend your...meetings."

"Be sure to let us know immediately if she causes any problems," Steve added in a stern paternal voice.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Sutcliffe told them, not seeing Buffy playfully sticking her tongue out at 'Dad' when the Director's back was turned. "She'll be settled in before you know it. Of course, you'll be attending our mid-term orientation tomorrow."

Jaime nodded. "Of course." She bent down to kiss her 'daughter' and patted her head lightly for good measure. "Be good, dear, and we'll see you in the morning."

- - - - - -

Oscar's office phone rang at 2:05pm the next afternoon. "Things change, and no one bothers to inform me?' the strident young voice on the other end demanded.

"Well, hello, Jennifer," Oscar answered, amused. "You're sounding more like your mother every day."

Buffy didn't laugh. "What's going on? Why am I suddenly on my own? I mean, not that I can't handle that, but what the -"

"Slow down; what are you talking about?" Oscar asked.

"My 'Mom and Dad' never showed up for orientation."

"Where are you now?"

"My dorm room," Buffy told him.

"Stay there, and do _not _open your door for _any _reason. I'll be there in a few hours."

"Shouldn't I start looking for 'Mom and Dad'?"

"I'll get teams on that right away. I want you to lay low until I get there."

"But -"

"Not by yourself; this is too big – and too dangerous."

"I could -"

"_Do **not **open your door,"_ Oscar ordered.

Unfortunately, they didn't take into account that one person did have a master key. The door flew open as Buffy hung up the phone. Dan Sutcliffe silently closed the door, then pulled a gun from the pocket of his suit coat and leveled it at Buffy. His voice was soft and even, but the threat was serious.

"Jennifer," he said, advancing toward her, "you and I need to talk."

- - - - - -


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jaime woke up alone and confused. Was Steve here, too, wherever 'here' was? She searched her mind, and the last thing she remembered was Room Service knocking on the hotel room door. She'd looked out the peephole and had seen the waiter, but when she had opened the door, no one was there. Jaime thought she'd heard a very soft "thwick" sound, but after that, there was nothing.

She found that she was lying on a bed in a very small, windowless room, her hands and feet bound with rope. There was no one else in the room. She wriggled her fingers around and managed to hook her right thumb under the rope. With very little effort, she broke the thick bonds, then sat up and freed her legs as well. Perched on the edge of the bed, Jaime listened very closely for any sort of clue while she tried to gain her bearings. She heard several voices, none of which she recognized, and none of them Steve's.

"I'll ask you this one more time: where have they moved the Conference?"

Silence.

"Hit him again."

Jaime heard a very quiet buzzing sound, a louder noise that was almost a sizzle and the sound of human flesh being struck repeatedly. She realized that they not only had Steve - they were _hurting_ him!

"_What the hell?_" the stranger's voice growled. "**_Wires_**?"

Oh God, no...Jaime pleaded silently. Without any thought for her safety, she headed out of the room and down the narrow hallway toward the voice – toward _Steve_. A rough hand clamped tightly over her mouth from behind so violently that it nearly yanked her off her feet, while an arm snaked around her waist, pressing a gun barrel into her flesh.

"Well, this is convenient," her captor said menacingly. His hot breath on the back of her neck made Jaime's skin crawl. "Maybe your husband will be more cooperative if it's you we're hurting." He propelled her down the hall, opened a door at the other end and shoved her through it.

Steve's heart sank when he saw his wife. Unlike Jaime, he'd been awake when their abductors had taken them from the hotel. The knockout dart that had struck Jaime's neck had an immediate and savage effect, sending her to the carpet in a crumpled, unconscious heap. Steve had instantly rushed to her aid, but to his horror there were already two gunmen standing directly over her.

"Come with us quietly," one of them had ordered, "and she stays alive." Steve had been led to believe that Jaime would be released when they got to their destination. Over the course of the last four hours, while he'd been interrogated, beaten, sprayed with ice water and shocked repeatedly, he'd neither seen nor heard any sign of Jaime. He'd begun to allow himself to hope that she truly was safe. Seeing that she wasn't free, after all, broke Steve's heart.

Jaime landed near her husband's feet and when she first looked up at him, she wanted to cry. She'd overheard enough to know he'd been hurt, but she'd had no idea how badly. His wrists were handcuffed, with the cuffs' chain hung over a ceiling beam, suspending him several feet in the air and slamming his entire body against the brick wall with each blow struck. His right eye was swollen nearly shut and his face was covered with bruises; he'd obviously been worked over before being hoisted in the air. Most frightening of all, a large section of his right arm had been badly burned by the electric shocks, opening a hole that exposed the wires and circuitry in his arm. Jaime knew it also exposed them both as being a little bit more than normal boarding school parents.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and the pain on Steve's face made Jaime feel true fear. She started to rise to her feet and was abruptly shoved back to the concrete floor with much greater force than was necessary. "_Stay down_," the man who appeared to be in charge told her. Very quickly, two others moved in and had Jaime restrained – this time with chains – in mere seconds. They remained standing, directly behind her, to await any further orders.

"Where were we?" the leader mused to Steve. "Oh, I remember." His voice grew harder, cruel. "Tell me about those wires – and I want to hear all of it. Now."

Jaime stared down at the floor but shook her head almost imperceptibly, knowing Steve was looking at her, trying to tell him she'd rather take whatever was coming then have him exposed any further. Steve understood, but was unsure if he could bear it, even if Jaime could. He glared silently at the interrogator.

"What's it gonna take?" the man wondered aloud. "We could start yanking out her teeth, one at a time, without any sort of sedation...or pull off every one of her fingernails. Or – I could just do this." He strode up behind Jaime, raised a booted foot and kicked her. Jaime bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying out in pain, and Steve twisted helplessly in the air, unable to help her. "I can kick a lot harder," the leader persisted. "Might aim for that pretty little head, next time..." He raised his foot, ready to hurt her again.

"No," Steve said in a weak but very firm voice. "I'll tell you anything you wanna know; as soon as you let her go."

"You are in no position to even attempt to call the shots here. I'll start with an easier one; what's your name?" He stepped around to Jaime's side, yanked on the chains to raise her partway off the floor and turned her body toward his waiting boot, clearly implying the next kick would be much worse.

_No, Steve..._Jaime thought, trying to convey it telepathically to Steve. It didn't work.

"Colonel Steve Austin."

Jaime closed her eyes, defeated, as the interrogator released the chains and sent her slumping back to the floor.

"Who sent you?" he demanded of Steve.

"Let her go first."

"Who do you work for?"

"_Let her go!"_

The leader turned to the men standing behind Jaime. "Take her back to her room. If you don't hear from me within an hour, _**kill her**._"

- - - - - -


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Buffy had faced more than her share of vampires and monsters without any major problems (except for dying twice; she didn't count that), but there was something about looking down the barrel of a gun that gripped her heart with abject terror. She decided to try and stall.

"I didn't know there was a marksmanship course here! Can I still sign up?"

"Sit down, Jennifer," Sutcliffe ordered, backing Buffy toward a chair, "although I doubt that's your name." Her attempt at humor squashed, Buffy sat down and stared wordlessly at the Headmaster. "Who are you really?" he demanded. "And where are your so-called parents?"

Buffy's only answer was to lean back in the chair, folding her arms and glaring at him defiantly. She wasn't about to tell him who she was, and as for Steve and Jaime...who knew where they were?

"You _will _answer me – you really have no choice. The only thing for you to decide is how difficult, and how painful, this little chat of ours has to be. Who sent you, and why are you trying to disrupt the Peacekeepers' Conference?"

_What? _Buffy was now thoroughly confused. Were they on the same side, or was this some kind of trap? She decided to try and hold out, to stall for time, so Oscar could make the to-trust-or-not decision.

- - - - - -

Jaime was lying quietly on the bed, debating in her head the possibility of breaking her chains. She might've been able to overcome the two goons who'd stayed in the room with her, but she knew she'd never be able to free Steve and get them both out of there safely while he was surrounded by armed, vicious interrogators. She thought about possibly making a run for freedom and then summoning reinforcements but she had no doubt Steve would be dead when they returned for him.

She cursed her bionic hearing, wishing she could shut out the horrific sound of Steve hitting the wall, over and over. She forced herself to remain alert and to listen, even though it turned her stomach, because if Steve was left alone for even a few minutes, they just might have a chance to escape.

"Who sent you here, Colonel Steve Austin?"

"Who is the woman?"

"Where are they holding the Conferences?"

"Tell us about the wires."

"Are you a robot? Are you human? _Who are you_?"

The men kept hammering questions at him without any let up or mercy until the hour had almost ended. Jaime heard a distant door open and close, then she could barely make out the voice of another man who was speaking in low tones. She couldn't hear all of what he said, but picked up the words "...gotta see this...tore 'em right in two..."

Jaime's body tensed, and she prepared to break her bonds. Her heart sank as she realized the leader's footsteps were headed in her direction. She'd heard no gunshots, but there was also no sound coming from the room Steve was in. Had they killed him? She wriggled herself into a seated position on the bed, where she could face whatever was coming head on. The door opened slowly, and the leader joined them, followed by three solemn, blank-faced thugs. They waited in the doorway while their boss moved to the bedside to confront Jaime.

"Your friend is bleeding, so I guess he's not a robot, after all," the man sneered, enjoying her distress at hearing that news. "My friends here have brought it to my attention that you may be somewhat _unusual _yourself. How did you break those ropes?" He leaned in closer. "Don't feel like talking? That's fine." He flipped Jaime's body roughly so she was facing away from him and wrapped his fingers around her left wrist.

After a moment, he announced "Well, you're still alive; you've got a pulse." He reached for her right wrist, held it in his fingers for a minute, then dropped it and slammed Jaime onto her stomach. "Hold her down," he told Jaime's two guards. Turning to the thugs at the door, he had one more order. "Get me a scalpel – or a good, sharp knife."

- - - - - -

Buffy _was _able to buy time with her silence, but it was time in a dark, cramped cell-like room in the basement of the Administration Building, directly below Sutcliffe's office. She wasn't worried; it had only a door to close her in – solid hardwood, but a mere door, nonetheless. She was the _Slayer_, after all, and 'Slayer versus door' wasn't even a challenge. 'Slayer versus intricate alarm system' was another story, though, as she soon found out.

The resulting alarm was so loud and shrill that it nearly deafened her. Men came running toward her from both ends of the hallway, and Buffy began knocking them down like dominoes, in true Slayer style: a kick to one side, an impressive leap with an almost Ballet-like spin and then another kick. One by one, she took them all down and finally reached the doorway that led to the stairs.

She didn't see the two men waiting on the other side of the door – one with a needle at the ready – until it was too late.

- - - - - -


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Steve dangled limply, in more pain than he'd ever known was possible. At least he was alone (for the moment), and he scrambled for a way to free himself, and to save Jaime. What were they doing to her? He knew the specified hour was just about up, and horrific pictures played in his head – each worse than the last – and he yanked hard with his right arm, trying to break the cuff chain. He couldn't get any leverage with the chain looped up and over the beam, so he gave another hard yank, downward this time; if the chain didn't break, maybe the beam would. His arm had been badly weakened, though, and he only succeeding in making his left arm throb more insistently. Strain on the exposed and damaged circuits of his right arm caused it to stiffen with the fingers fully extended.

Fate finally smiled on Steve, for the first time all day, As he settled back into a dead hang, he found that two of his fingers had somehow become entangled in the chain. Once he regained control of them, he forced them apart and the chain separated, as well. Steve slumped to the floor, unsure for a few seconds if he was actually free. Pain and shock threatened to render him unconscious, but he fought with grim determination and made it to his feet. He stepped unsteadily toward the door, and the step saved his life when the beam he'd been suspended from came crashing to the floor, missing him by inches and echoing through the entire building with an ominous _THUD!_

- - - - - -

_"What the hell was that?" _the leader (Jaime heard one of the others call him Jack) growled. He had just made the first cut into Jaime's right arm – without anesthetic, reasoning cruelly that 'robots don't need pain-killers' – when the _THUD _announced an urgent problem down the hall. He stopped what he was doing and turned angrily to the others. "If that's Austin, bring him to me – in pieces, if you have to."

Jaime closed her eyes and uttered a silent prayer, then cringed in pain as Jack flipped her over to face him, forcing her weight onto her newly-damaged arm. His cut had been deep enough to sever wires and short out the circuits, causing intense pain. As Jaime's eyes blazed pure anger back at her tormentor, her ear picked up the slightest of whispers...

"Jaime, if you can hear me, _run – now._"

The three thugs in the doorway had taken off down the hall, but Jaime's two original guards still stood on either side of the bed with their guns drawn and ready (not to mention Jack and his knife), so running wasn't exactly an option.

Jack scowled as the sounds of a violent struggle grew loud enough for everyone to hear. "If your friend thinks he can get away, he's sadly mistaken. There are more men here – in more places – than you could possibly count. He's not going anywhere, and neither are you."

A series of crashes told Jaime that Steve was at least on his feet and still fighting. She guessed (correctly) that he was picking up whatever he could find and throwing it at his pursuers. The sounds grew louder and closer, until a lone gunshot sounded, ending the struggle.

- - - - - -

Buffy was slowly awakening from the effects of the needle she'd been stuck with, and shook her head as she tried to push the strange images from her mind. She felt like she'd been dreaming the entire time she was asleep; dreaming of Giles, Willow, Xander and Dawn – of the life she used to lead. _You're not there anymore; you're an **operative **now, _she told herself. _Your friends need your help._ When she'd been the actual Slayer, it had always come so easily to her, instinctual, as though she'd been born to it (which, in fact, she had). This, she had to think about, weighing options in her head as she tried to figure out what to do. The conversation taking place in the office directly above her would've answered most of her questions...

- - - - - -

"Oscar! What brings you to Sacramento?" Dan Sutcliffe smiled as he moved to shake his old friend's hand.

Oscar accepted the handshake, but his face remained grim. Buffy hadn't answered her phone, and a trip to her dorm room let him know that he now had **three** missing operatives. "You had a new admission yesterday," he said without preamble, "Jennifer Lawrence. Do you know where I might locate her?" He didn't fail to notice his friend's sudden, uncomfortable shift in mood. "Dan?"

"What's she done?"

Oscar frowned. "Why would you ask that?"

"You've flown all the way out here to ask me about her; I assume there's a reason." He hesitated before disclosing the rest. "Oscar, that little girl isn't who she says she is."

"I know," Oscar said quietly. "I sent her."

"_Oh, no..._" Sutcliffe's face blanched. "She's...one of yours?"

"She's here to try and prevent some threatened trouble to your school and the students. Her 'parents', too – and I can't find any of them. I've got three missing operatives and they were all last seen here, Dan, at _your _school -"

"Her parents never showed up for orientation today; couldn't tell you what happened to them. Jennifer, on the other hand -"

"Buffy."

_"Buffy?"_

"Her name is Buffy."

Dan shrugged. "Ok. Well...given her sudden, no notice admission, right before Peacekeepers', and then the fact that her parents never came back..." He was almost afraid to tell his old buddy the rest, but he knew he had to. "Oscar, I am so sorry; I've got her downstairs in a holding cell, leftover from when this place was an Army Headquarters. I – well, I thought she was a terrorist."

- - - - - -


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Oscar was **livid** – no apology or explanation was good enough – as Dan Sutcliffe unlocked the door and helped a fully awake Buffy to her feet.

"I am so sorry for all of this," he told her. "Oscar has explained everything, and I can't tell you how terrible I feel -"

"You should," she said simply, brushing herself off.

"I had to protect my school. I was looking out for my kids – they're _all _my kids – I would do anything to keep them safe."

"I was here to help you do that," Buffy pointed out.

"I know that, now. If there's anything I can do to make up for this, or to help you in any way..." Dan looked at Oscar. "I'd like to help you find your other agents. You can use my security staff in any way you see fit."

Buffy's eyes grew wide with worry. "You haven't found them yet?"

Oscar shook his head sadly. "None of our teams have turned up anything. They ordered room service this morning, but when it arrived, they weren't there to receive it. When our men checked the hotel room, everything was still inside, including the car keys, but Steve and Jaime were gone."

Everything Buffy had been mulling over in her head while she was in the cell would have to be dealt with later. "We've gotta find them!" she insisted, running up the stairs with Dan and Oscar close behind.

"There's one more thing you need to know," Sutcliffe told them in the car, on the way to Oscar's newly set up command center at the near-by Army base. "The Peacekeepers' Conference won't be in England anymore. It's been moved again – to the school."

- - - - - -

They had been brought to this complex with Jaime used as unconscious bait to force her husband into compliance, and now their roles were reversed. Jaime could barely keep breathing when the thugs dragged Steve – now completely unresponsive – into the room.

"Take a look at this," one of them told Jack. "His leg is wired, too." The bullet had been aimed for his kneecap, making any further attempts to run for freedom out of the question.

"Care to tell me about that?" Jack demanded of Jaime. She answered with a still-silent glare. "Lock 'em both in the 'tank'," he ordered. "If _she _gives you any trouble, _shoot **him.**_" He unshackled Jaime's legs, leaving her arms secured, and pushed her to her feet.

Jaime followed the men who were dragging her husband, with the other two guards close behind, ensuring her compliance. They walked out of the building, but Jaime didn't have a chance to look around, since their destination – a tiny, round concrete outbuilding – was only a few feet away. The men holding Steve upright pulled the heavy iron door open, then stepped aside, allowing Jaime to be shoved inside first. She was pushed abruptly through the door, and immediately over the threshold, she fell about ten feet before hitting a cold concrete floor. There were no stairs, no easement or ramp, just a dead drop, and before Jaime could regain her bearings, Steve landed in a heap at her side. He wasn't restrained; there was obviously no longer a need for it. The door above them slammed shut, and they were alone.

Jaime rolled slightly, leaning toward Steve, wishing she could reach out and touch him. Jack's scalpel had damaged her arm, and she couldn't get her fingers in a position to break the chain, so all she could do was look at him, willing him to wake up and trying to infuse some of her remaining strength into his badly injured body.

"Steve?" she said in a soft, tentative voice. Jaime's eyes filled with tears as she took in the true scope of his injuries. She maneuvered herself close enough to place a single, very gentle kiss on his forehead. It seemed to help.

"Jaime..." Steve's voice was weak, and his eyes were still closed, but at least he was _there._ Jaime ignored the pain in her arm and leaned over to kiss him again. "Are you...ok?" he asked with great effort. "Did they...hurt you?"

Jaime's silent tears began flowing freely and uncontrollably down her cheeks. He looked like he was close to death, and he was worried about _her_. "Oh, Steve..." she cried, more to herself than to him.

Her tears penetrated the fog, and Steve forced his eyes to open. He turned his head to look at her, trying to will his body to obey him. He saw the chains around her arms and tried not to let Jaime see his pain as he slowly reached over and broke her restraints with a still-functional finger. "We...have to...get you outta here," he told her.

"We have to get **_us_ **outta here," she corrected.

"I...can't. Can't walk."

"Then I'll carry you."

"No."

"Steve, I'm not leaving here without you."

"_You have to._" Steve found one more little trace of strength, enough to pull himself into a sitting position against the wall. "Please, Sweetheart. Are your legs ok?"

"Yes."

"Good." Steve paused while a wave of pain rushed over him, breathing through it until it began to subside. "I want you to jump to the door and give it a good kick."

"Steve -"

"Do it for me – please?"

"Someone's coming!" she suddenly cautioned. They both fell silent and Jaime leaned against the wall with her arms behind her, so anyone looking in the door would think she was still chained. No one came to check on them, though, and she continued to eavesdrop on the conversation, uninterrupted. Steve watched her closely. Jaime's jaw dropped at what she was hearing, and her face grew pale. "Oh no..." she whispered, closing her eyes in dismay. When the conversation had ended, she opened them again and turned to her husband.

"Steve, they're gonna bomb the school!"

They had virtually no time to consider what this would mean, or how to prevent it, since they were about to find out why this outbuilding was called 'the tank'. Very slowly, barely noticeable at first, water – the enemy of live, exposed wires – was seeping in through tiny holes in the walls.

- - - - - -


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Oscar had his hands full. He was coordinating search efforts for Jaime and Steve, reinforcing security measures at the school and overseeing the safe arrival of the Conference participants. It was too much for any one person to shoulder, but Oscar didn't stagger under the weight. He thrived under pressure, even while fear for the safety of two people he considered his family chilled his soul to its core.

Dan called to him from across the room. "Oscar, phone call on line three."

"Take a message." He was already busy on lines one and two.

"It's Rudy Wells."

Lines one and two would have to wait. "Yes, Rudy?" he answered anxiously.

"I'm getting an alarm from Steve's fail-safe emergency chip," the doctor said in a grim voice, "the one we implanted to let us know if Steve or Jaime needed help, if they were...dead or close to it. His system beginning to shut down would be the only thing to trigger the alarm."

Oscar pushed back the sudden nausea that washed over him. "What about Jaime's chip?"

"No – just Steve's. Oscar, where is he? We need to send the Medivac -"

"We don't know; he and Jaime went missing this morning. Can you get a location on the chip?"

"I think so. I'll try, and call you right back."

"I'll wait on the line. Rudy...please hurry."

- - - - - -

Jaime was facing the heaviest dilemma of her life. The water was now about two inches deep, still rising, and Steve had started fading in and out of consciousness. If the water hit the open circuitry on either of their bodies, the current would electrocute them both. If she jumped and tried to get the door open and run for freedom (and bring back help), Steve faced certain death. If she laid him out flat, face up, he might float, but he might also turn over, face down. She had tried to stop the water, but plugging one or two of the tiny holes made the water shoot out faster and harder from all of the others. Jaime knew that the only possible way they might both survive would be if she could keep Steve's damaged arm and leg (and her own right arm) out of the water.

- - - - - -

Oscar kept the phone to his ear, waiting for Rudy to come back on the line and at the same time, he picked up another phone and resumed giving orders. The Peacekeepers' Conference, now slated to begin in less than 12 hours, was shifted to the Los Angeles headquarters of the OSI, with swarms of NSB agents providing security at every point of entry. The delegates were being moved via U.S. Army transport vehicles to spend the night in an underground bunker near the office. Swarms of OSI and FBI operatives were being called back from their respective searches and were told to wait – on high alert – for word of the area of Steve's emergency chip. Medivacs were set to take off from half a dozen separate locations; as soon as they knew which one was closest, it would be in the air and on its way. Sutcliffe Academy had been evacuated. Oscar had efficiently covered all of the bases when Rudy finally returned to the phone.

"Oscar, I've got an area for you. Have the troops start heading due North from Sacramento, and I'll have a more exact location in just a few minutes."

Oscar immediately relayed the information. He and Rudy both knew without saying that Steve (and probably Jaime) might not have 'just a few minutes' left.

- - - - - -

The water was up to Jaime's waist when it began rising even more rapidly, and she kept Steve's prone body floating face up, in front of her, buoyancy allowing her to support him with her left arm extended below him and her damaged right arm slung over his chest. She struggled to stay calm, well aware of what would happen if she gave in to panic.

When the water was as high as Jaime's shoulders, Steve groaned and began to move restlessly in her arms. Jaime bobbed upward slightly, running her right hand in a smooth, gentle caress down the side of his face. She stretched over and kissed him before settling her feet back down on the floor.

"Steve," she said in a soft, steady voice, "I really need you to not do that. We're gonna get out of here – somehow – but I need you to help me by staying still, please." She didn't know if he heard her, but he seemed to relax, just a bit. "You've gotta stay with me here, Steve," she continued. "We're a _team_; remember that." Jaime knew she'd soon be treading water, and while she could possibly give him mouth-to-mouth if necessary, CPR would be out of the question, and his color was terrible. He seemed to be fading away, right before her eyes, encircled in her arms.

Her feet could no longer touch bottom when Steve began to thrash and seize, threatening to pull them both under. Jaime curled her right hand underneath him, careful to keep the arm out of the water as she tried to hold him in his prone position. She was losing control and had started to brace herself for the jolting pain of electrocution when, just as suddenly, Steve went limp in her arms.

"No! Don't do this to me, Austin – don't do this to **_us_**!" she pleaded, with as much authority as she could muster. She jostled his body, still fighting to keep them both above water, and startled him just enough to get him breathing again. The door was still several feet away, and Jaime tried to figure out how she could kick it open without dropping Steve or plunging any exposed live wires into the swirling water. She'd have to wait until they'd risen to the appropriate height, and she just prayed her strength – and what was left of Steve's tentative hold on life – would last that long.

- - - - - -


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Buffy's heart pounded crazily as she and Russ sped up the highway toward the newly-received location of Steve's emergency chip. Russ had always been a calm, proficient driver, and they were doing more than 90 and would be among the first to arrive at the specified coordinates.

"Oscar tells me you can do a lot of what Jaime and Steve can do," Russ ventured, his eyes still on the road.

"I'm not bionic, though," Buffy answered. "God, I hope they're ok..."

"We'll find 'em. Jaime's chip isn't active, so that's a good sign."

Buffy sighed. "I don't know if I'd want the government to be able to track me."

"It's only in case of emergency. I don't think it could be activated from the government's side. And, in this case, at least it told us where they are – or where Steve is, anyway."

"Do you think he's still alive?" Buffy asked, her voice trembling.

"We're about to find out." They were the first car to reach the gate of the small compound, and Russ swung the car to a screeching halt, sideways across the front gate, just as a trio of cars was speeding directly toward it. "Buffy, get out!" he warned, and they both dove for cover.

A small army of back-up cars arrived just as the first of the escaping trio slammed into the now-empty car that blocked their way out. The two cars that followed crashed like dominoes into the leader and smoke rose from all three engines. A swarm of penguin-suited operatives started pulling occupants from the cars and when the passenger of the first car was found to have a detonation device, everyone was taken into custody.

Buffy saw none of this, however, since she was already well beyond the gate, running through the compound solely on instinct, trying to find her friends. She'd already passed by the tiny, round building when her mind registered the strange sight of water – _a lot of water –_ pouring out from under the door. Somehow, she just **_knew_**, and raced back to the little outbuilding, calling for Russ on the datacom. He got to Buffy just in time to see her pull the heavy door completely off its hinges and set it aside, as though it were a mere sheet of cardboard.

What they saw was soul-rending. Jaime, her own head barely above the waterline, was struggling to keep Steve's body afloat and beginning to lose the battle. When she saw their rescuers, she tried to lift him toward the door using only her left arm and the last of her badly-depleted strength. Russ and Buffy both reached for him and had barely gotten a firm hold when Jaime's right arm slid from her husband's chest and into the water.

The resulting shock threw Russ and Buffy backward into the grass, still holding Steve tightly and pulling him out. Jaime stiffened as the current passed through her body and her arm swung – claw-like – back around Steve and froze there, saving her life as she flew out of the water to land beside him. Russ and Buffy were stunned but not badly injured and they leaned over their fallen friends as the Medivac landed and help streamed toward them from every direction. They watched the color beginning to return to Steve's face, the electricity having been enough to revive him, at the same time that life and color began to drain away from his wife.

Oscar arrived as all four of his operatives were being loaded onto stretchers with Jaime and Steve bound for the Medivac and Russ and Buffy for an ambulance. Jaime began to stir again as the medics administered oxygen, and Oscar smiled with relief to see his 'children' reach out from their respective stretchers to grasp each other's hand.

- - - - - -

When Russ had been examined, released and was on his way out of the hospital, he saw Buffy sitting all alone outside Jaime's room.

"Hey, you," he said with a friendly grin.

"Hi."

"How are they?"

"Steve's in surgery now," Buffy told him, rubbing her tired eyes. "Doctor Wells says we got to him in time. He won't be going home for awhile, but he should be ok – especially with Jaime for a surrogate nurse."

"How's she doing?"

"Just needs a few minor repairs on her arm. They'll take care of it after she's had a couple of days to rest."

"You did an amazing job today," Russ said sincerely.

Buffy looked up, meeting his gaze, and smiled. "Thanks." Now that the worst was over, she couldn't help noticing that he wasn't bad on the eyes. "Maybe I'll get the hang of this, eventually."

"You're doing just fine already. Oscar's really impressed."

"He is?"

Russ nodded. "So am I."

Buffy smiled again, startled to realize neither of them had broken the gaze. "Can I...tell you something?"

"I'm a very good listener."

"I've been thinking a lot about resigning, leaving the OSI."

"Buffy -"

"I mean, when I was the Slayer, everything came so easily to me; I didn't have to think about every move before I made it. This...well, it's a lot harder."

"I can understand that. But you _are _good at this, too."

"The thing is, slaying vamps, fighting monsters – it was so exciting, and felt so important. It – it got into my blood. Or, it was always there. But I'd go home at night and have nothing to show for it, nothing tangible. If I'd walked up to someone on the street and said 'Hey, I saved the world from the bloodsuckers again today'...they'd lock me away in a padded room." Buffy relaxed when Russ chuckled at her; he was getting it.

"Things like helping keep the Peacekeepers on schedule, finding Steve and Jaime...that kind of stuff – it just seems more **_real_**, you know?"

Russ took her hand. "Absolutely. That's why I still work for them."

"And I've always liked a challenge." She found herself diving deeper into his eyes, into the secrets that might be held there.

"So have I," Russ confirmed, leaning closer.

"I think I've just found my biggest challenge ever," Buffy whispered, his lips preventing hers from saying anything more. Buffy had to admit, she didn't mind in the least.

END


End file.
